Caro-Kann Defense: Alien Gambit
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Ng5 h6 6. Nxf7
The Caro-Kann Defense: Alien Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B15, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Ng5 h6 6. Nxf7. It is a line of the Caro-Kann Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,492 times by this move order. White won 53%, 2% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 6… Kxf7 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: −1.80 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 6… Kxf7 7. Bc4+ Be6 8. Bxe6+ Kxe6 9. Nf3)
- ECO
- B15
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pNp1/2p2n1p/8/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Ng5 h6 6. Nxf7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 281 | |
| 1500-1999 | 947 | |
| 2000+ | 264 | |
| All | 1,492 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Kxf7 | 1,491 (100%) | |
| 6… Bf5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
127 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 7%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- GM Samuel Sevian (2697) – FM Sourath Biswas (2305) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Feb Late · 2024-02-13
- FM Havard Haug (2340) – GM Jeffery Xiong (2636) 0-1 · Titled Tue 7th Jan Early · 2025-01-07
- CM Henning Holinka (2284) – GM Daniel Dardha (2603) 0-1 · Titled Tue 3rd Sep Early · 2024-09-03
- FM Raghav V (2322) – GM Jakub Kosakowski (2538) 0-1 · Titled Tue 27th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-27
- Nikita Kraiouchkine (2218) – GM Rasmus Svane (2637) 0-1 · Titled Tue 2nd Jan Early · 2024-01-02
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: Alien Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Blagoslavlenny_Bogom (2552) – Penicillium_salamii (2585) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Sir_Lancelot1988 (2448) – Papolabestia123 (2568) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Dr_Magician4ik (2468) – Lokio_o7 (2478) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense (3. Nc3 dxe4) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4
More Caro-Kann Defense lines (all)
- Caro-Kann Defense (1. e4 c6) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense (1… c6 2. Nc3) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense (2. Nc3 d5) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack (1… c6 2. c4) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack (2. c4 d5) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Modern Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Open Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Pseudo-Scandinavian B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Van Weersel Attack B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Apocalypse Attack B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation, Stein Attack B10
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.